NEWS
STORIES
A link to important
Milestones reached by the Association has been added to the top
of the News Page
Hate Free Highland (19/2/2010) The Hate Free Highland website has been developed and is supported by the Highland Community Planning Partnership.
This site is to report only non-urgent hate incidents which have occurred in the Highland area. Police will receive this form during normal office hours.
Click here to go to the Hate Free Highland website. This website is also available through our Useful Links page.
Scotland's Housing Expo - Inverness, August 2010 (1/2/2010)
The Highlands of Scotland is home to Scotland’s Housing Expo for the entire month of August 2010. The first ever Housing Expo in Scotland will showcase 55 architect designed houses, set in four unique zones, featuring innovative construction and cutting edge sustainable systems plus the very latest in product design, landscaping and interiors.
This is a unique collaboration between six of the North’s top housing contractors - William Gray Construction Ltd, Tulloch Ltd, Robertson Highland Ltd Morrison/Galliford Try, O’Brien Homes and James MacQueen from the Isle of Skye. This move provides a real uplift for the construction industry both in Scotland and the Highlands during these challenging economic times. Work on the construction of the houses has now commenced following on from an earlier phase of infrastructure and plot preparation works.
Scotland’s Housing Expo will provide a vision for the next generation of Scottish housing and is based on an established model found in Finland and mainland Europe. It is set to put Scotland firmly on the map as an exemplar of sustainable living. 40% of the Expo homes will be affordable, with the remaining 60% available for sale on the open market.
Fully supported by The Highland Council and a consortium of agencies, the Expo is a result of an architectural competition which was entered by the cream of Scottish architecture to design these unique and state of the art homes. Based on an innovative master plan for the whole site, the winning designs offer a view of future living for both affordable and private housing, using high quality design, demonstrations of sustainable technologies and new construction methods.
Click here to go to Scotland's Housing Expo website.
Highland Carers Bulletin (20/1/2010) Highland Community Care Forum (HCCF), now 20 years old, has, over the years built up a portfolio of services for carers including young carers, people with mental health problems, people with learning and physical disabilities and older people. HCCF adopts a community development approach and works in remote, rural and urban localities across the Highland area. HCCF helps users and carers to speak up so that their views and experiences shape local services and support. Their services include advocacy (individual and collective), information, consultation and training.
They carry out small scale social research and use intelligence gained from our work on the ground to contribute to policy development locally and nationally.
If you would like more information, please click here to go The Highland Community Care Forum website, or click here to view the Highland Carers Bulletin 2009-2010.More Archaeological Discoveries in Armadale (16/12/09) The site in Armadale originally revealed six burial cists dating to at least the early Bronze Age, about 4,000 years ago. Three intact, decorated food vessel pots were found inside three of the graves.
Recently, however, the archaeologists recovered 5 flint artefacts from a seventh cist. Three flint arrowheads and two flint knives, all in amazing condition, were found associated with a burial. They appear to be very high status items, suggestive of a person of importance in the grave and it is believed that they may have been brought in from another region, possibly Aberdeen or further afield.
Mary Peteranna, who is in charge of the dig, has described them as “amazing, significant finds”.
Thanks to Mary for the use of her photograph.
Digital Switchover
Starting in 2008 and ending in 2012, TV services in the UK will go completely digital, TV region by TV region. This process is called digital switchover. The UK’s old television broadcast signal - known as analogue - is being switched off and replaced with a digital signal. Any TV set that is not converted to digital when the switchover takes place will no longer receive TV programmes.
If you would like more information, please click here to go to the Digital TV FAQs website.Draft Documents for Consultation (29/9/09) The website has a page showing Current Consultation documents. Please click here to view the draft documents.
Skills for Living (27/4/09) Are you under 25 years and a tenant, living in a B&B or thinking about leaving home in the near future?
Come along to the Skills for Living Group, a new and exciting group for young people to be involved in
where you can develop skills and knowledge that can be useful to you in your tenancy, or future tenancy.
Starting Monday 4th May 2009, every second Monday, 1.00 pm-3.30 pm in the Old Library, Bayfield Road, Portree IV51 9EL. Click here to see the Skills for Living brochure.
Highland LEADER Programme (21/4/09)
LEADER is part of the new Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP), aimed at promoting economic and community development within rural areas. It aims to deliver support for rural development by helping those active in rural areas to consider the long term potential of their area.
The initial LEADER budget for the Eilean a’ Cheò area is £477,752. Support will be aimed primarily at small to medium scale, community driven projects that are pilot and innovative in nature. Constituted community groups, voluntary organisations, social enterprises / micro enterprises, or public sector bodies can apply.
The hope is that, by encouraging community involvement and the development of innovative and sustainable projects, this will help to revitalise communities and bring economic and community benefit to rural areas.
The LEADER Programme runs until 2013 and the maximum funding that LEADER will normally provide is 40% (although up to 45% LEADER funding could be available if 45% or more public match has been secured). There is a requirement that a minimum of 5% towards project costs will be provided by the applicant group.Please click here to go to the LEADER website for more information.
The Scottish Government's "Go Greener" Campaign (18/2/09) Reducing food waste is currently a key focus for the Scottish Government’s Go Greener campaign, which aims to encourage people to make small changes to their everyday behaviour to help contribute to a greener Scotland. Click here for more information and some tips.
Visit the Go Greener website and you can benefit from fantastic offers and giveaways from a range of partners who are giving their support to the campaign. To sign up to the 10 steps and to see some of Mr Earth's Green Tips and Offers, click here to visit the Go Greener website.
InfoScotland and Fire Safety information The Scottish Government have developed a very useful website called InfoScotland on a variety of topics including health, road safety, teaching, law in Scotland, how to become an organ donor, grants for businesses and many more. Click here to go to the website.
One of the links is called "Don't Give Fire a Home" and has details on how to recognise hazards, smoke alarms, etc . Click here to go to the website.Skye & Lochalsh Young Carers Project The Skye & Lochalsh Young Carers Project website has been launched. Please visit their website. www.skyeyoungcarers.co.uk.
The Calman Trust Information Exchange Project The Calman Trust in Inverness have an Information Exchange project which aims to involve young people in sharing advice and information about leaving home, transition etc. The idea behind this is to address some of the ‘leaving home’ issues that might ultimately lead to homelessness (the focus of the project is not on homelessness, but is more about the things that every young person will need to consider as they leave home). A website which aims to provide information and advice on all sorts of youth issues has recently been launched. You can access it at www.leavinghomeinthehighlands.org. The website offers some very useful information.
In addition, there is a forum on the site http://www.leavinghomeinthehighlands.org/forum/category-view.asp, where young people can discuss a variety of subjects online.
Property Survey The Association is required by the Scottish Quality Housing Standards to carry out surveys on all of our properties in order to ensure compliance with current standards. The Association hopes to complete these surveys by the end of March 2010.
The survey looks at room sizes, electrical fittings, heating systems, window and door fittings. A change in Building Regulations has meant that part of the survey involves measuring and assessing possible future works required to be carried out to the properties in order to meet the new regulations.Any Suggestions? If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or comments, please send them to our mailbox at info@lsha.co.uk or phone them in to us on 01478 612035. You might like to suggest articles for the Association's next newsletter, or share useful information with other tenants.
The
Association is registered with The
Scottish Housing Regulator as
a Registered Social Landlord (No. 324) and with the Financial
Services Authority
(No. 2132RS).
The Association is a Scottish Charity No.SC038019